Wirral martial arts instructors locked up in Bromborough Police Station to raise money for Liverpool Unites

Aug 4 2010 by Tina Miles, Heswall News

THREE Wirral martial arts instructors swapped their dojo for a police cell to raise money for children’s charity Liverpool Unites.

Social worker Chris Ricks, four-time world kickboxing champion Lee Charles and senior instructor Darren Holmes teamed up with Merseyside Police for the Locked Up for Liverpool Unites fundraiser.

The men spent Sunday afternoon locked up in a cell at Bromborough Police Station for the Wirral News-backed charity.

Chris, who is a martial arts instructor in his spare time, said: “We chose Liverpool Unites to fundraise for as the charity aims to engage children and young people across Merseyside in positive activities, and keep them away from the criminal justice system.

“At Elite Martial Arts, we believe in this message, and also promote this with the young people we work with.

“We believe in the importance of young people having positive role models from whom to learn, and activities that keep them fit, engage them in a positive way, and keep them away from crime and offending behaviour”.

He said: “We worked closely with the police on this fundraiser, which took place as part of an emergency services open day, and would like to thank them for all their help and support. We also received a generous donation from the Mayor of Wirral’s charity fund.

“It was really positive to see so many people taking an interest in what we were trying to do, and listening to the message of the charity. Apart from all the sponsorship we received before the event, people gave generously on the day and helped us raise £700.”

Lee said: “Some young people have a negative view of the police, and through this fundraiser we challenged this attitude, along with actively promoting an anti crime message. The police fully supported this fundraiser.”